


After you

by Tigi



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:49:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28511442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigi/pseuds/Tigi
Summary: Tanith has a hard time getting over Ghastly
Relationships: Aurora Jane/Tanith Low, Ghastly Bespoke/Tanith Low, Tanith Low /Frithening Jones, Tanith Low/Billy-Ray Sanguine





	After you

The first time they meet, Tanith is still an assassin, one of the bad ones and it is a long time before she will switch sides.  
At that point of her life she is determined to prove everyone how good she is as a killer and she is succeeding at that she thinks.  
She is swift and strong and doesn't often underestimates her enemies and she doesn't brag (Okay the last one was a lie....).  
But most importantly she gets often in and out without alerting anyone and most victims don't have time to struggle.  
For the ones that do struggle or are prepared she has her sword and that ends it more often then not.  
This job should have been the same, as far as,Tanith knew the soccer was unprotected, but of course she has her usual bad luck and that specific mage chose to hire a bodyguard (out of to her unknown reasons, but maybe because he somehow heard she is after him).

The woman with the sword certainly comes as a suprise to her and the way she handles it she even knows how to do it.  
Damn it.  
But Tanith doesn't complains, she has come for one reason and fir one reason only.  
To kill the man who is currently trying to escape (Not that he us doing a good job doing it, he is if truth be told, an awful escaper).

,,It's really nice to meet you and I always appreciate the fight, you are a good fighter, by the way."complimentary Tanith her.

,,But?"asks the tiny woman with the short black hair.

,,What but?"asks Tanith a littel thrown of track.

,,With your generation their is always a but, to young to appreciate time."points the woman out.

,,Please, you can't be much older then me, you look to good for that."replies Tanith with a broad smile.

,,Flattery won't get you anywhere."tells the woman her mildly and doesn't Tanith attack.

,,I am not flattering, I am flirting."replies Tanith and then ,,Is it working?"

,,I will tell you, if you put the handcuffs on, I have with me."replies the tiny woman with the sharp sword, Tanith laughs and raises her sword to counter an attack.

,,How about you let me just kill the man and we can all live our lives happily?  
And you get a date with me."points Tanith with a grin out while she starts to attack the woman with a whole series of attacks.  
But she defends herself so easily that slowly Tanith begins to think that this may not work out in her favour.

,,As much as it sounds like a win-win situation, I fear I must insist on you letting the man life."replied the woman sadly.

,,Ah come on, nobody is going to miss him."

,,Hey."starts then to protest and he is still not gone and Tanith wonders how incompetent he actually is.

,,This is a private conversation, stay out of it."tells Tanith the man and he shuts up and starts trying to struggle to open the window.  
For a second Tanuth wonders if she should bother to tell him that they are twenty meters above the ground and that he will die if he goes that way, but she closes her mouth again, because she only realises then that this is exactly what she wants.  
What she only realises to late is, that she is distracted and the woman uses that and makes a move.  
Tanith only sees a blur of a movement and tries to rise her sword in an attempt of defending herself but it's only that.  
An attempted.  
Soon her sword is on the floor and she is defenseless and backing down.

Then a terrified screams echoes trough the air and they have only time to see the man fall out of the window and then their is a strange sound.  
It isn't exactly loud, but there is a weird snap and their is even something soft about the sound.

The woman runs to the window and starts to curse, Tanith only smiles and walks to the door and casually picks her sword up again.  
The woman turns around and looks straight at her ,,Are you sure that you don't want to get handcuffed still, after all this is still attempted murder."

,,When I tell my boss about it , it will be murder."promises Tanith her with a grin and the woman nods ,,fair enough, I guess I will have to force you to put on the handcuffs then."  
With that the woman starts running and Taniths starts too.  
Their mist be a way to get yo the ceiling thinks Tanith and starts taking the stairs up, behind her she hears a huff of suprise and Tanith grins.  
The woman must think her nuts or stupid, but she isn't, she knows just to well what she is going to do.

Soon enough the staircase ends in the highest floor (Which one she isn't sure, Tanith didn'tbother count ), but there are some other strait leading up to the ceiling and Taniths heads toward them and then takes them, two steps at a time.  
As soon as she is on the ceiling and heads towards the edge she hears the woman behind her starting to slow down, probably confused.  
Tanith just speeds up and uses her speed to go straight over the edge.  
Gravity shifts.  
She still runs, but the world has turned upside down.  
Tanith hears the woman curse and she grins.

...............

After another other....jobs she stops, she takes of, leaves the group and changes her life.  
It's a big decision, but Tanith is sure it's the right one.  
She can't keep on killing people she just can't.  
It isn't even necessary her conscious, it is more of a I want to do more in life.  
And of course she doesn't want to be always the bad one.  
The feared one.

So, she comes clean, switched sides and soon enough after a few years she meets a nice man.  
They met in a fight too.  
With zombies of course, sometimes Tanith has the feeling that they are everywhere somtimes.  
Every evil enemy seems to be crazy about them lately.  
She hopes that it is a short lived trend.  
But their us not time to learn the bad taste of her enemies, there is work waiting to be done, so Tanith starts.  
There is a child beeing hold hostage by this Zombies and it is her job to free it.  
She hopes everything goes right, she would hate to be the one to say that she has lost the child to a horde of Zombies.

But she is doing her best, attacking them one by one and doesn't let them surrender her, because they totally outnumber her.  
And she is doing actual progress and the number of Zombies go steadily down.  
She doesn't has to worry about them killing the hostage, nobody with even a littel brain let's Zombies in biting range if a human hostage, that would be a disaster.  
The child must be in a protected are somewhere on the middle of the Zombies, so it's protected from the Zombies and every rescue mission, like her.  
Then there is a move to her right and Tanith spins to her left, only to see a black man cutting the head of one of the Zombies.

,,Reinforcement?"asks Tanith slighlty out of breath.

,,Yes."replies the good-looking man with a short nod.

,,Who sent you?"asks Tanith rasising her sword to behead another Zombie.

,,The concered Parents, who didn't thought the Sanctuary would be able to rescue their child."replies the man.

,,It is always nice to know people trust you..."mutters Tanith, but then smiles ,,But I get it, why trust an organisation that big and usually useless?"

,,That's a littel pessimistic...."

,,Realistic."corrects she him ,, We all know that some of the employees are corrupt, but that isn't even the worst problem, because you can punish corrupt people quit good.  
The problem are the lazy and bored, the ones who don't take it serious at all.  
The ones who don't care."

,,That's quiet a speech."comments the man

,,Maybe we can discuss it a littel better over a coffee."offers Tanith.

,,Over coffee...? Are you asking me out?"realises the man.

,,Yes, so you're up to the challenge?"asks Tanith.

,,Isn't it a bit weird to ask a complete stranger out on a date?"asks the man.

Tanith shakes her head ,,Not really, we can later arrange the details, but mostly we will later save the hostage and I can hardly ask you out them and if I don't act now, you will just be gone again."

,,You have a point."admits the man.

,,So what's your answer?"asks Tanith.

,,Yes."replies the man grinning ,,As soon as we are finished I will let you take me out on a coffee."

,,Perfect."says Tanith and then adds ,,Itwill be my treat."

The man smiles at that raises his sword and kills another Zombie.  
Well he kills the Zombue as much as you can kill anything dead.

They win, they bring the hostage back, they do paperwork (which Tanith hates) and then they get coffee.

,,I am Frightening Jones."intrudes Frightening himself and Tanith smiles.

,,I am Tanith Low."then they both start to talk about this and that and the date goes well.  
When they start to walk back home, Tanith makes a move and kisses him goodnight and he kisses her back and she asks after another date.  
It goes on like this for some time.  
Slowly they begin to know each other and one day Frightening shows her his apartment, she stays overnight.  
Frightening doesn't mind.  
And shortly after that they move in together.  
They become a couple.  
Tanith doesn't mind.  
Then Frithening takes a job in his Sanctary.

,,I think we will have to separate."yells Tanith him, when he tells her.

,,Is that because I want you to move to Africa?"asks Frigheting.

,,No, it's because you have a job that involves beeing part of the Sanctuary, you know my opion about that."

,,Then that's it?"asks Frightening.

,,I am sorry Frightening."

,,I am too, Tan."

He has moved out a week later , leaving Tanith in an apartment filled with many good memories about their relationship.  
They stay in contact and Tankth learns that Frightenibg is doing fine and she's doing good time they talk about this that and they start to begin to become friends.

A littel later she meets Saracen and they end up kissing under the moonlight, after they have killed Zombies.  
She gets out of bed the next morning and leaves Saracen behind without regret.

,,You are already going?"asks Saracen her tiredly.

,,Yes, I have work to do."replies Tanith and is gone.

At some point she meets the tiny woman again at some Santuary social thing.  
A ball or something like that.

,,You."says the woman.

,,You."replies Tanith equally creative.

,,So, you have switched sides, I have heard?"asks the woman.

,,I did, now I am one of the goodies."replies Tanith ,,But if I would have known it would involve such boring stuff, I probably would have staid on my former side."

,,Yes, the Sanctary has quite a liking for boring stuff doesn't it?"

,,It certainly does."agrees Tanith with a smile, this could go somewhere she thinks and the woman seems to think so too sming at her broadly.

Then Saracen burst into their conversation and ruins everything.

,,Tanuth, I didn't knew you were hear, we could have gone together."offers Saracen.

,,No way."bluest Tanith out before she can help it.

,,Ouch, my ego just suffered from an major attack."complains Saracen.

,,You're ego needs these major attacks, it's way to back."points the tiny woman out.

,,That was just mean Aurora."sniffs Saracen acting all hurt and pained.

,,I was only trying to be honest."replies Aurora not in the slightested concerned.

The conversation goes on like this for a while before they leave.

Some years later Tanith goes Monster hunting and ends up meeting Mr, Bliss.  
She listens to him and she goes to Ireland.  
There she meets Valkyrie for the first time, who became her littel sister.  
She meets Ghastly there for the first time there to.  
A tailor and a boxer, a good man.  
Tanith starts to take a liking to him and she has the feeling they could become something.  
Maybe a couple, but not like Firgheting and her, who broke up again,but something more permanent.  
Longer lasting.  
Tanith gets to know him better and this time she takes thinghs slow.  
It takes years until Ghastly asks her out, for a steak.  
She is excited and she loves the idea of it.

A remant hijacks her, changes her deep down.  
Changes her soul.  
And Tanith can't even rember it.  
Can't rember becoming evil, killing people and she doesn't rember Billy-Ray becoming her boyfriend.  
She can't remember Ghastly dying.  
Billy-Ray tells her about his death.  
Billy-Ray saves her.  
He dies.  
And now she has two dead man.  
She can't help it.  
She cries.  
She runs.  
From all of it.  
And she becomes a bad person again, ut us kind of a step back.  
She isn't coping well.

All she can think about is Erskine shoving a dagger into Ghastlys back.  
In her dreams she sees his golden eyes flowing, while he watches one of his best friends day.  
In her nightmares she can hear Sanguins last breaths, she sees him taking on breath after another, while slowly his shirt is soaking with blood and soon enough the blood fills his lungs.  
He stops breathing.  
He dies.  
She watches him.  
He is dead.  
She runs.  
She kills the Cleaver.  
He is still dead.  
And Tanith knows he saved her life.  
Somtimes she even wondered if there was any possible future were he would have life, were she got to know him and to thank him.  
Her words after he helped her escape from the cavern after she killed Murder Rose echo still in her head.  
I wouldn't date you, I have standards.  
They are harsh words and it hurt her to know that he still saved her, thought her worth of it.

,,I am sorry."whispers Tanith.  
But no one listens.  
They are dead.  
Both of them.

For a short time she considered suicide.  
But then she realised she couldn't, she simply couldn't.  
Not after he had died for her, to give her a chance to life.  
She closes her eyes and cries, sits there in the dark on the edge of her bed and cries.  
Her tears seem pointless, they won't bring them back.  
Neither Ghastly nor Sanguin.  
A lost love and a lost.....chance maybe?  
She doesn't know.

Her nightmares get stronger over time and Tanith wonders of they are some kind of punishment of her subconscious. 

,,I can't."whispers Tanith when she walks trough the white corridor.

And then she says put loud ,,I didn't happen like that."

But still she keeps on walking and then she sees Ghastly, Erskine and Anton taking, surrounded by Cleavers.

,,Please, I can't take it."whispers Tanith, but she doesn't look away, she knows that would be worse.

,,Tanith."says Ghastly with suprise and turns towards her.

,,Ghastly...."begins Tanith and she tries to warm him.

She's to late.  
Erskine stabs him in the back and then ther is blood.  
Vaguely she registers somone taking Antons head of.

She makes it in time to Ghastly to catch him falling over.  
She slides down next to him, when she lies him gently on the floor.

,,I love you."tells Tanith him.  
But he is already dead.

Then his body slowly fades away, Tanith doesn't try to stop it from happening, she just Hope's that wherever he goes, that he has found peace their.  
And happiness.

Then a new scene appears and she tries to be ready, but she knows she will never he.  
The black Cleaver is their.  
Sanguin is their.  
Then the Cleaver moves and suddenly their us a red line on Sanguins throath.  
Blood starts to pour out.  
Tanith reaches him not fast enough to catch him, it feels like she is letting him do.  
All she can do is get on her knees next to him and hold his hand.  
,,Tankh you."tells Tanith and then ,,I am sorry."

Sanguin tries to say something, but the only thingh that comes out is blood.  
He dies shortly after that.  
Tanith watches him doing so.  
Then she wakes up.  
Her heart races and she tries to slow her rapid breathing.  
Ghastly.  
Sanguin.  
She knows they will haunt her forever.  
But that's okay she begins to realises, she can't forget them and she doesn't want to.  
But she has to get her shot together.  
She switches sides.  
She knows both of them would have wanted her too, even Sanguin, because he would want her to be happy.  
Sge takes a job and becomes a freelancer.

At some job she meets Aurora again and they start talking.

,,Are you okay?"asks Aurora her out of the blue.

,,Sure."replies Tanith.

,,It's just that you lost so much."replies Aurora and Tanith us glad that she asks directly instead of pitying her and talking about her behind her back.

,,I did and it's hard but I am finally feeling like I am getting somewhere."tells Tanith her.

,,That's good."replies Aurora.

,,Would you like to grapp some coffee?"asks Tanith her then.

,,Sure, is this a date or..?"

,,A date."says Tanith firmly.

,,Ate you sure you are ready?"asks Aurora softly.

,,Tes, this isn't some rebound thing or coping, this is me picking up were we stopped."tells Tanith her.

,,Were we stopped?"asks Aurora.

,,Yes, before Saracen interrupted us."

,,You were going to ask me out?"asks Aurora.

,,Of course."assures Tanith her.

,,Right now I really hate Saracen."tells Aurora her.  
Tanith laughs at that, she dies a littel too.

Then they go and grab a coffee.  
Tanith smiles, she is sure Aurora would be approved by the two dead man.

............

,,You owe my five beer."

,,I should have known she would go for Aurora...."mutters Ghastly wayching the two woman sipping coffee.

,,Well you didn't and now I have won our littel bet."tells Sanguin him.

,,Even in death you are still an annoying littel bastard, don't you have any standards?"asks Ghastly.

,,I have."replies Sanguin with a smug ,,The same as you apparently, are least when it comes to woman."

Ghastly wisely ignores that and turns around to Tanith ,,Do you think she will be happy."

,,Of course, she is Tanith. Sge and Aurora are going to hit it off and screw their brains out later this day."assures Sanguin him.

,,I didn't needed that image in my head."exclaims Ghastly.

,,God, you're such a prude."mutters Sanguin.

,,I am with Sanguin on this one."interrupts Larrikin tgeir conversation and steps next to them ,,What are we doing?"

,,Watching Tanith."replies Sanguin.

,,I am watching Tanith, Sanguin is the creep who followed me."points Ghastly out.

,,If anyone followed anyone, it was you following me."argues Sanguin.

,,In your dreams."shots Ghastly back.

,,Oh my, can't you just stop it already and just get over each other and do it?"asks Larrikin.

,,Do it?"asks Ghastly confused.

,,Make love, sex wathever, you are so obviously teasing each other."tells Larrikin him.

Ghastly looks at him horrified.

Sanguin seems to be thinking and then says ,,I don't think ghost can have sex."

Larrikin throws his head back and laughs.


End file.
